Poirot is a former police detective from Belgium, now in England as a refugee during the Great War. He has settled near Styles Court, the country estate of his benefactor, Mrs. Emily Inglethorp.
When Ms. Inglethorp is fatally poisoned with Strychnine, the police are baffled and rope in Mr. Poirot. Suspects include her much younger husband, Alfred Inglethorp, who now stands to inherit her fortune, and her older son John, who inherits the manor.
Her estranged friend, a Ms. Evelyn Howard, arrives and immediately accuses Mr. Inglethorp of murder. Someone matching Mr. Inglethorp’s description is seen buying Strychnine at the chemist too. But Poirot works out that things don’t quite add up. Using his deductive skills, Poirot sifts through all the deception and identifies the actual murderer.
An excellent introduction to the eccentric Belgian sleuth, the pattern follows Dame Agatha’s favourite closed scene murder, where there are a limited number of suspects and the detective has to identify the correct one.
The book also introduces Poirot’s frequent collaborator, Hastings, how also narrates the story. A must read for all murder mystery aficionados.